A model, 23, whose top lip was ripped off by a pit bull has revealed her shocking transformation that sees her finally able to smile after getting multiple surgeries.
Brooklinn Khoury, from Mission Viejo, California, has shown off her shocking new look after undergoing many intense ’20-hour surgeries’ over the past two-and-a-half years.
In both pictures and videos posted to her Instagram and YouTube, she boasted about her amazing ‘healing process,’ showing herself miraculously being able to smile after she suffered from a harrowing incident in 2020 that saw a dog bite off her upper lip.
Brooklinn Khoury, 23, showed off her incredible transformation after her face was dramatically altered in a dog attack
The model showed off her shocking new look after she had a Sephora employee draw on a top lip for her
Brooklinn was bitten by a dog two-and-a-half years ago and has since undergone many intense ’20-hour surgeries’ to finally be able to smile again
The harrowing incident happened on November 2, 2020, and she said the animal ‘was shaking her head like a toy,’ ultimately ripping off her entire upper lip
Brooklinn has been undergoing many surgeries since she was attacked in 2020 and has been staying ‘positive’ throughout the entire healing process, noting that she still has a long way to go, but that her followers and fans give her so much ‘motivation.’
She explained that her confidence levels have been boosted since the attack, and she ‘wakes up every day and couldn’t be happier.’
‘I have learned to just love myself and love everything around me, and not to take anything for granted,’ she said on her YouTube channel.
At the end of the video, Brooklinn noted that she’s a ‘happier person’ and has realized she has ‘so much to live for’, before adding that she wishes she could go back to work, but is ‘still going through surgeries.’
In a recent YouTube video back in December, Brooklinn explained that her confidence levels have been boosted since the attack, and she ‘wakes up every day and couldn’t be happier’
‘I have learned to just love myself and love everything around me, and not to take anything for granted,’ she said. She’s pictured in November 2022
At the end of the video, she noted that she’s a ‘happier person’ and has realized she has ‘so much to live for.’ Brooklinn is pictured in July 2022
Finally being able to smile, the model even went into Sephora and had an employee draw her an upper lip with lipstick, which many users said looked so ‘natural,’ sparking questions about if she would ever get an upper lip ‘tattooed.’
She received her first surgery in November 2021 and noted she was taking it ‘day by day.’
The harrowing incident happened on November 2, 2020, while she was visiting family in Arizona. She said the animal ‘was shaking her head like a toy,’ and it ultimately removed her entire upper lip and parts of her nose.
During the model’s first 20-hour surgery, doctors removed skin and an artery from her arm, and attached it to her mouth to act as a new lip – a procedure called a skin graft.
The model (pictured after her first surgery in 2021) underwent ‘many surgeries’ to try to repair the horrific damage and revealed she still has a long recovery road ahead
Brooklinn completed the first round of surgery in November 2021, and said it ‘went well.’ She is pictured before (left) and after (right) the surgery
Her face was dramatically altered during a terrifying dog attack on November 2, 2020
They then made an incision in her neck, and went in and connected the artery so that blood could flow to the new lip.
In a YouTube video, Brooklinn opened up about the intense surgery, which took place on November 17, 2021, and reportedly cost $400,000. She shared intimate details about her recovery.
She spoke about her long road to recovery, with at least five more procedures to go, but Brooklinn said she was trying to feel ‘excited’ for the future.
‘Everything went well. The nerve, the tissue, the skin, it’s all well, alive, and healing – which is really good and rare,’ she said.
‘My fingers can move, [there’s no] nerve damage, thank God… I’m so grateful to be out [of the hospital], and I’m happy to be healing.
‘I’m trying to be excited for the next couple of stages of the surgeries, I’m just taking it day by day.’
At the time, the then 23-year-old admitted that she had a lot of people telling her not to post any videos or photos of her face because of ‘the way that it looks.’
But she decided she wanted to be open about every step of the process, so that she could help others who may be going through something similar.
‘I know I look different, I know I look crazy right now because of how swollen my face is but no point in hiding. I’m happy to share this, I’m happy to help anyone I can,’ Brooklinn explained.
The star had a 20-hour surgery, where doctors removed skin and an artery from her arm, and attached it to her mouth through her neck, so that it could act as a new lip
In a YouTube video, Brooklinn opened up about the intense surgery, which reportedly cost $400,000, and shared intimate details on her recovery
She still has a long road ahead of her, but Brooklinn said she is trying to stay ‘positive’ and ‘take it day by day.’ She is pictured before her first surgery
‘I am not going to hide the process because if someone is watching this video and they’re going through the same thing, they’re going to be able to relate and they’ll be able to feel not alone. I feel very passionate about sharing the vulnerable process.’
Brooklinn – who had her parents and her girlfriend, former Dance Moms star Chloe Lukasiak, by her side throughout every surgery – admitted that being in the hospital was difficult for her as it brought back traumatic memories from when she was there after the initial attack.
At the time, she couldn’t be with her family or friends due to the coronavirus pandemic.
‘Hospitals kind of give me problems because of the first attack since I was alone, so when I’m in hospitals I just get anxiety,’ she added.
‘It is unfortunate because I’m going to have a lot of surgeries so I am trying to have a positive view on them in my head, but it’s taking a lot of patience.’
Brooklinn had her parents and her girlfriend, former Dance Moms star Chloe Lukasiak (pictured), by her side throughout the surgery
In a YouTube video, Brooklinn admitted that she had mixed feelings about the surgery due to the long and grueling healing process. She is pictured before the surgery
In a previous YouTube video, which was posted days before she went under the knife, Brooklinn admitted that she had mixed feelings about the surgery due to the long and grueling healing process.
‘I’m excited to get surgery to begin to heal again and work with this doctor, but I’m also really sad to have to stop my life again and kind of heal, and to go through the healing process,’ she revealed at the time.
‘I feel like I’m such an active person, so for me to be out for a little bit, it hurts my head mentally.
‘Coming out of the surgery, I am not going to be able to move my mouth at all, so I have to have a feeding tube up my nose.
‘I have to be on a liquid diet. I have to be in the hospital for five days after the surgery. It’s gonna be a lot, so I’m gonna need all the prayers I can get.’
She previously told Buzzfeed that she wasn’t getting the surgery to change her appearance, but instead, to protect her exposed gums. She is pictured before the attack
She added that she’s happy to ‘rock her no-lip forever’ and that she knows she is never ‘going to look the same.’ She is pictured right after the attack
She also said it took more than a year for her to find a doctor who was willing to work on her face, but that it was totally worth the wait.
‘[The surgery is] very complex but my doctor is the best,’ she gushed.
‘I finally found a doctor and I’m working with him. He has the best heart and he’s so open minded, he just thinks beyond the box.
‘It’s amazing. He’s creative, he’s artsy, that’s something that I really wanted in a doctor so I’m so happy I found it. It took a year, but it was well worth the wait.’
In an Instagram post after the attack, the model admitted that she was ‘scared’ for her future and that she wasn’t sure if she’d ever be able to smile again.
‘It’s crazy how your life can change so dramatically in the split of a second,’ she wrote.
‘I’m trying to stay as positive as I can about this whole situation, but I will be honest I am scared about my future, or if I’ll ever be able to smile again or eat normally.
‘This is the beginning of a long journey to recovery. I hate asking for anything but It would mean the world if you would pray for me. Please remember to hug someone you love today.’
She previously told Buzzfeed that she wasn’t getting the surgery to change her appearance, but instead, to protect her exposed gums. She added that she’s happy to ‘rock her no-lip forever’ and that she knows she is never ‘going to look the same.’
In February, Chloe recalled the heartbreaking moment she learned that her model girlfriend had been attacked by a pit bull
She also insisted that she ‘never saw her any differently’ after her top lip was completely ripped off by the dog. The couple is pictured together in 2021
In February, her girlfriend, former Dance Moms star Chloe Lukasiak, recalled the heartbreaking moment she learned that her model girlfriend had been attacked by a pit bull – and insisted that she ‘never saw her any differently’ after her top lip was completely ripped off by the dog.
According to Brooklinn, since the attack, her girlfriend has been nothing but supportive, and said Chloe always makes sure to ‘reassure’ her about how ‘beautiful’ she is.
And when someone asked Chloe if she ever considered leaving Brooklinn because of the way she looked, she responded, ‘No. Never,’ adding that Brooklinn is an ‘incredible human being.’
‘What makes me mad about this society is that some people have expressed surprise and praised me for not leaving her because of that and it just makes me angry,’ she said.
‘I understand that’s what we’re taught to think and feel, but it just makes me upset because if you spend five minutes with Brooklinn you’d understand how incredible of a human being she is.
‘Just because she doesn’t look like traditionally how everyone looks anymore, I think it’s so cool. She looks different. Now everyone’s gonna be trying to look like her.’
Chloe explained that the attack happened five days after they began talking, so they weren’t dating just yet but it ultimately brought them together, with the two dating ever since.
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